


who'da thunk

by eugyne (AreteNike)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Strangers to Lovers, background shallura - Freeform, brief mention of possible buzzed driving??, idk where lance and hunk are but theyre probs dating too, pidge and allura are roomies, shiro and keith are also roomies, this is the straightest thing ive ever written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 11:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8100424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AreteNike/pseuds/eugyne
Summary: "Think about it. If this lasts longer than a night, we'll probably run into each other anyway. If it doesn't, we can drag them along to hang out and make it super awkward for them."
Slowly, he grins. "I like the way you think."





	

**Author's Note:**

> rarepairs? in MY fanfiction??  
> its more likely than you think
> 
> this is unbeta'd and i wrote half of it on my phone in a hospital waiting room lmao... if u see any typos or w/e lemme know

The bar is too noisy and too warm. And crowded. And _sweaty_. And every once in a while Pidge can hear Allura laughing behind her, reminding her that she is not the one having fun in this scenario.

"Ugh, why am I even _here_ ," she mutters into her drink.

The man beside her startles. "What?"

"Oh, sorry." She turns to him apologetically. "Didn't mean to say that aloud." He's got a mullet and a sweater and looks at least as uncomfortable as she is, but she at least had the sense to take off her jacket (it's tied around her waist, which Allura seems to think is a sure way to scare men off, which is why she did it).

"Oh," he says. "...I get it, though. Didn't really want to be here either."

"Didja get dragged here by a friend too?"

"Yep." He gestures to the bar they're sitting at. "I don't even drink."

"Me neither." Pidge is smirking now as she lifts her drink. "This is pineapple juice."

The man gives her a small smile back and lifts his own drink. "Coke. To being the designated driver by default?"

She clinks her glass against his. "Hear, hear."

They both take a long swig of their respective non-alcoholic beverages. Pidge comes up grinning, and so does the man.

"Keith," he says, and offers his hand to shake.

"Pidge," she says, and takes it.

"So," says Keith, nodding out to the crowd beyond the bar. "Which one's yours?"

If they're acting like moms at a playground about their drunk friends, Pidge is so down. She scans the crowd until her eyes settle on her roommate's familiar cloud of silver hair. Allura catches her looking and waves.

"That one," Pidge says, and they watch her turn back to a man with a white tuft of bangs and a prosthetic arm.

"Huh," says Keith. "She's talking to mine."

"Yeah?" Pidge narrows her eyes. "What's he like?"

"He's a goody two shoes. Holds the door open for everyone, helps little old ladies cross the street, the whole shebang. He's probably barely even buzzed right now."

She squints at him and decides she believes him. "Okay, good."

"And her?"

"Eccentric, but harmless. Definitely drunk."

"Hm." He nods. They watch the two chat for a minute—then Allura takes the other man's arm and gestures to Pidge. He nods and gathers his things, while she makes her way over to the bar.

"Pidge!" she exclaims. Up close the flush of alcohol is clear on her face. "I'm going back with this guy, so don't wait up, okay?"

"Okay. Stay safe, use protection, don't get murdered," Pidge deadpans. "And tell him I'm holding his roommate hostage until your safe return."

"Okay!" Allura giggles and waves as she walks away.

"And have fun!" Pidge hollers after her.

"Keith!" The man waves over at them, and Keith raises his hand in acknowledgement. Then they walk out arm in arm, leaving their very sober and uncomfortable friends behind.

"Well," says Keith.

"I think," says Pidge, "we should be friends."

He raises an eyebrow.

"Think about it. If this lasts longer than a night, we'll probably run into each other anyway. If it doesn't, we can drag them along to hang out and make it super awkward for them."

Slowly, he grins. "I like the way you think."

She ends up inviting him back to her apartment for a "sober night of friend-making" partly because his roommate (Shiro) took his ride and partly because he just seems like a cool guy. Not cool as in _cool_ really, cool as in interesting and able to keep up with her snark.

Plus she's got an extra bed tonight.

They start a Star Trek marathon and the extra bed is moot because they fall asleep on opposite ends of the couch (not that she would've _actually_ put him up in Allura's bed, that'd be weird). Allura finds them like that in the morning, and Pidge and Keith exchange phone numbers before he goes downstairs and gets in Shiro's car. She gets a text fifteen minutes later with a picture captioned "roommate shaming" of Shiro driving and Keith's hand holding a note that says "i dragged my non-drinking friend to a bar and left him for a hookup".

Oh man, this one's a keeper.

In a week, Shiro invites Allura on a date, and when he picks her up he drops Keith off. They pick up their Star Trek marathon where they left off.

In a month, Pidge and Keith start hanging out even when their roommates aren't together. Pidge gets to know Shiro and tells Allura he's acceptable, and she's pretty sure Keith comes to the same conclusion about Allura. They keep marathoning TV shows (they're onto The X-Files) but more often than not they fall asleep curled up on the _same_ side of the couch, now.

In three months, Pidge sends him a selfie during her break at work and complains about someone's deli order and he sends one back in his Best Buy uniform and commiserates with her about retail hell. A coworker looks over her shoulder and asks if that's the boy she's dating, and she's about to say no but realizes she kind of _is_.

But cuddling on the couch in the dark and talking about their hopes and fears and dreams can be platonic, right?

In three months and a day, she brings it up as casually as she can manage while they're eating ice cream outside a little cafe in the city.

"You have a point," he says, equally casually, but he's licking the ice cream that's dripping down his wrist so it doesn't exactly come across as _dignified_.

"Well, are we?" she asks. Her ice cream is in a cup and easily forgotten.

He raises an eyebrow at her over his chocolate-covered wrist. "I think that's a decision we have to make, Pidgey. It doesn't just _happen_."

She looks down at the ice cream soup in her hands. "Well, do you wanna?"

"Do I wanna what?"

She shoots him a glare. He's grinning.

"Yeah, I wanna," he concedes, nudging her with his elbow. "Obviously."

"Okay, cool," she says, blushing furiously and focusing all her attention on her ice cream. "Me too."

Their first official date ends up being a double date. Pidge argues enthusiastically for lazer tag, and once Shiro concedes there are _some_ parts of middle school worth reliving and no you can _never_ be too old for lazer tag the other two agree. Shiro and Allura are careful and strategic where Keith and Pidge are reckless and ruthless, and it's a close game but ultimately Pidge and Keith are victorious. Pidge gloats about it and is generally insufferable to Allura for at least a week. Allura, being a kind-hearted soul, forgives her.

Keith suggests paintball next time. Pidge is down but Shiro and Allura pass.

They call their dates, dates. Late night cuddle sessions in front of the TV become late night make out sessions in front of the TV. Not much else changes.

Seven and a half months after the night at the bar, Allura tells Pidge she's thinking of moving in with Shiro.

"That's great!" says Pidge.

"But what about _you?_ " says Allura.

"Hold that thought, my phone is ringing," says Pidge.

It's Keith. "Shiro told me he and Allura are thinking of living together."

"She just told me that, actually."

"So, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Switcheroo."

"Yep."

Pidge hangs up and turns back to Allura. "I'll be fine," she says. "You and Keith can just swap places."

"Are you sure? You haven't been dating very long..."

"We were dating before we were dating. And he's already here more often than you are lately."

Allura still looks worried, though, so Pidge gets up off the sofa to take her hands.

"I'll be fine," she says. "Me and Keith will be fine. You and Shiro will be fine. We're all friends, right? Don't think I'm letting you leave my life just like that. I have every intention of subjecting you to more double dates in the future."

"...Thank you, Pidge," Allura says, and hugs her until Pidge gets twitchy.

"Okay, okay, enough. We have planning to do."

They're both smiling widely.

It takes a while to get the leases sorted out and Swap Day doesn't come soon enough, but it comes, eventually. Shiro carries heavy boxes like they're nothing, even with his prosthetic arm; Pidge carries heavy boxes and pretends it's nothing, and Keith pretends to swoon. At the end of the day he flops onto the couch and Pidge looks at him and it's nothing she hasn't seen before, but, somehow, it's different now.

"I'm home!" he says tiredly, throwing up his arms, as if in response to her thoughts. She goes and grabs one of his hands, and sits on his legs because he's hogging the whole couch again.

"Welcome home," she says with a grin.

**Author's Note:**

> *raises glass of pineapple juice* heres to kidge
> 
> hmu @maternalcube on tumblr


End file.
